Eight killed in shark attacks in 2020 as Australia records deadliest frenzy for nearly 100 years
EIGHT people have been killed by sharks as Australia has recorded its highest figures for fatal attacks for almost 100 years.
It comes as scientists have speculated shifting hunting grounds, the weather, staycations and overfishing allmay have played a role in the spike.
Eight men - aged between 17 and 60 - have all been killed by sharks while in the water off the coast of Australia in 2020.
The most recent death was dad-of-three Charles Cernobori, 59, who was killed on Sunday by a 12ft shark Cable Beach in Broome, Western Australia.
The grandfather-of-four had been bodyboarding some 30 metres off the iconic tourist beach when he was attacked.
His death has meant Australia has now recorded its highest shark attack death toll since nine people were killed 1929.
And with two fatal shark attacks in the US, that brings the global recorded figure to ten - the highest for seven years.
Monitoring website recorded there have been 69 shark attacks around the world this year, with 22 in Australia.
Shark warnings have been issued for parts of country in 2020 - with at least two mass closures of beaches over fears of circling great whites.
Some 17 beaches were closed earlier last month due to a "huge number" of sightings in New South Wales.
The sharks were lured in closer to the shore by a dead whale which washed up on a beach in Casuarina.
And then a second whale washed up there a week later - prompting another massive closure amid shark fears.
Shark attack victims worldwide in 2020
SHARKS have killed more people than they have in seven years, and scientists are not sure why attacks have become so deadly.
- Gary Johnson, 57 - Mauled to death while diving as his girlfriend Karen Milligan watched from a boat just metres away on January 5 off Cull Island, Australia.
- Zach Robba, 23 - Dubbed a "young Steve Irwin", the park ranger was fatally attacked by a shark off Australia's Great Barrier Reef on April 7.
- Ben Kelly, 26 - Surfing when he was attacked by an "unknown" species of shark at Manresa State Beach in California on May 10.
- Rob Pedretti, 60 - Bitten on the back of his thigh by a 10ft great white shark while surfing off Salt Beach, Australia on June 8.
- Matthew Tratt, 36 - Killed by a shark which bit his leg while he was spearfishing on at Indian Head, Australia on July 4. Counted by shark trackers as a "provoked" attack.
- Mani Hart-Deville, 17 - Suffered shocking cuts to his legs during the deadly mauling at Wooli Beach in Australia on July 11.
- Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63 - Swimming with her daughter near Bailey Island, Maine, in the US when she was seen disappearing under the waves before being "thrown into the air" on July 27.
- Nick Slater, 46 - was mauled to death by the shark while surfing at Greenmount Beach on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia on September 8.
- Andrew Sharpe, 53 - Attacked and dragged beneath the water by a shark while surfing in Wylie Bay, Australia, on October 9. His body has not yet been found.
- Charles Cernobori, 59 - Believed to have been attacked by a 12ft tiger shark while bodyboarding at Cable Beach in Broome, Australia, on November 22.
Just a handful of people are killed by sharks every year, with attacks usually happening in Australia, the United States and South Africa.
The horror attacks appear to be becoming more deadly, with just two deaths from 64 attacks worldwide in 2019.
This puts the fatality rate at three per cent, while the ten deaths from 69 attacks globally is a death rate of 14.5 per cent in 2020.
Mr Cernobori's death happened at Broome which has not had a fatal shark attack in 30 years since a pearl diver was killed in 1993.
Following the attack, cops shot the suspected tiger shark 25 times, but the animal did not appear to be injured and authorities are still hunting for the beast.
Troy Ridley, who was swimming nearby and desperately tried to save Charles after hearing his cries for help, said the shark stayed in the shallows for an hour after the attack.
He said the animal had "no fear" and appeared to be looking for "something else to eat".
Beaches near Esperance in Australia saw two deaths - Andrew Sharpe, 45, and Gary Johnson, 57 - as locals described the town as "rocked" by the horror attacks.
David Swan, a veterinarian and spokesman for Ocean Safety & Support group, said it means people will "think twice about when or if they will go back in the ocean".
"There will be people who say ‘no, bugger that, I’m not going to die to go surfing or diving’," he told .
Data for 2020 however is likely incomplete, with the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) set to release a full yearly summary in January.
According to the ISAF, there have been been some 441 fatal shark attacks between 1958 and 2019 - which averages at around seven deaths per year.
Shark attacks since 2010 have however averaged six fatalities per year up until 2019.
Shark attacks by numbers since 2010
THE International Shark Attack File releases an annual summary of the previous year's unprovoked shark attacks every January
- 2010 - 82 Attacks, 6 Fatal
- 2011 - 79 Attacks, 13 Fatal
- 2012 - 83 Attacks, 7 Fatal
- 2013 - 77 Attacks, 10 Fatal
- 2014 - 73 Attacks, 3 Fatal
- 2015 - 98 Attacks, 6 Fatal
- 2016 -81 Attacks, 4 Fatal
- 2017 - 89 Attacks, 5 Fatal
- 2018 - 68 Attacks, 4 Fatal
- 2019 - 64 Attacks, 2 Fatal
Dr Blake Chapman, a marine biologist who examined shark neuroscience for her PhD, told that some attacks with multiple bites suggested the sharks may be preying on humans.
She said: "In some of the cases this year it sounds like the shark hung around and bit more than once, which is unusual behaviour for great white sharks.
"When they bite more than once it’s more likely to be fatal as there’s more blood loss."
Dr Chapman suggested the 2020 La Nina weather event - which is making oceans colder - could be contributing to the fatal shark attacks.
Professor Robert Harcourt, a researcher of shark behaviour, suggested La Nina may be leading to bull sharks heading to waters were people swim.
He said the increased rain triggered by the event could reduce salinity of the water, and push salmon and other fish closer to the shore.
Harcourt said: "The sharks are responding to where their prey will most likely be."
Dr Simon Allen, Adjunct Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia’s School of Biological Sciences, linked the increase in attacks to the coronavirus pandemic.
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He said: "People in Western Australia that would normally be holidaying in Bali or elsewhere are now holidaying around Western Australia.
"Regional tourism has exploded this year and there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of recreational fishing and other uses of coastal waters."
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He also agreed La Nina may be contributing to the lrge sharks following prey into areas where they may come into human contact along the shore.
The expert also said overfishing can lead to the sharks being driven closer to the shore in search of food.